Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in SBA Communications Corporation $SBAC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in SBA Communications by 13.4% in Q3, selling 15,121 shares and leaving it with 97,945 shares valued at about $18.94 million; institutional investors now own roughly 97.35% of the company.
• Quarterly results: SBA reported EPS of $3.47 (beat by $0.22) while revenue of $719.6M slightly missed estimates; the company posted a 36.4% net margin but a negative return on equity of 20.81%.
• Dividend and analyst view: SBA raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 (from $1.11), a $5.00 annualized payout (2.7% yield), and MarketBeat’s consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $232.17 price target.

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in SBA Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:SBAC - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,945 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 15,121 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.09% of SBA Communications worth $18,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of SBA Communications by 272.8% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 753 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in SBA Communications by 12.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the technology company's stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 9.0% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,236 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in SBA Communications by 105.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 164 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SBA Communications by 12.5% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 587 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.35% of the company's stock.

SBA Communications Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SBAC opened at $188.56 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $191.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.75. SBA Communications Corporation has a 1-year low of $177.49 and a 1-year high of $245.16. The company has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86.

SBA Communications (NASDAQ:SBAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The technology company reported $3.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.25 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $719.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.80 million. SBA Communications had a net margin of 36.40% and a negative return on equity of 20.81%. SBA Communications's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.47 EPS. Analysts anticipate that SBA Communications Corporation will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

SBA Communications Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from SBA Communications's previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. SBA Communications's payout ratio is presently 46.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SBAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of SBA Communications in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of SBA Communications from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of SBA Communications from $233.00 to $223.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $219.00 to $212.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of SBA Communications from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SBA Communications presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.17.

SBA Communications Profile

SBA Communications Corporation NASDAQ: SBAC is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its core business is the leasing of space on communications towers, rooftop sites and other wireless structures to mobile network operators, broadband providers and other wireless service customers. The company also provides site development, construction and ongoing site management services to support the deployment and operation of wireless networks.

In addition to traditional macro towers, SBA offers a range of infrastructure solutions designed for dense urban and suburban markets, including small cells, distributed antenna systems (DAS) and fiber backhaul and transport services.

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